Song Tan's Notes

The rural roads in July are also covered with wildflowers.

The temperature was high, but the air conditioning in the car was very strong, so even though we were traveling on the newly paved asphalt road, the passengers still had time to enjoy the scenery on both sides.

As the sun sets, the roads on both sides are bathed in a rich orange glow. Compared to their simple, newly completed state when I rushed over last year, the roads are now exceptionally beautiful thanks to the city's planning.

As early as the beginning of spring, many flower seeds were sown, including pink evening primroses, red, yellow, and purple cosmos and zinnias, which stretched in large patches on both sides of the road.

Although they are just ordinary flowers, when connected in such a pattern, they are still quite stunning.

"It's fine," the leader said casually from the back row.

Nowadays, villages everywhere are developing towards beautiful scenery. Qingxi Town is just not famous for its tea. Otherwise, the municipal government would have planned to plant various ornamental trees in the tea fields.

But nowadays, it's not that the government doesn't plan, it's just that there are too few people left in the countryside. Even with subsidies for planting various ornamental trees, it's still difficult to achieve a large scale.

The car continued on its way, and everyone was getting tired.

Fortunately, it gets dark late in summer, and now that the afterglow has faded, although a faint twilight has emerged, it doesn't seem very dark.

Instead, you can see a dark-skinned, thin man wearing a simple, old vest, carrying a shoulder pole by the roadside.

The carrying pole had an exaggeratedly large pile of baskets at both ends, with square and round ones of all sizes strung together.

The other person moved quickly, and although he knew that the thing on his shoulder was not very heavy in terms of weight, its large size still made him feel frightened.

The leader immediately ordered the car to stop, and then rolled down the window:

"Hey, where are you taking all this stuff? How about we give you a ride?"

Huh?
He was somewhat surprised as soon as he finished speaking.

The person carrying the load looked over, not the elderly man he had imagined, but a dark-skinned, thin young man.

His clothes were so simple that they caused him to misunderstand.

Nowadays, there aren't many young people willing to work hard in the countryside.

The leader didn't take back his words, but continued to look at the other person with enthusiasm.

The other person, however, gave him a curious look and said bluntly:
"Why do you guys look so familiar?"

But I can't remember exactly who it was...

The young man pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized:
"Oh, did you buy baskets from me before?"

He then eagerly peered into his car, and Secretary Wang felt a surge of nervousness. Just then, the young man asked again:

"Are you going to Yunqiao Village again this time? Did you bring a basket? If not, do you still need to buy one?"

Everyone:...

Saying it looks familiar is just something those seemingly simple country folk say on purpose to sell their baskets, right?

……

In short, the young man politely declined their offer, saying that his home was just ahead at the fork in the road uphill, and that he was carrying the baskets for his grandfather.

As for his grandfather?
The old man had just gotten a new electric wheelchair, which had already gotten home before him.

The car continued to start, and in the trunk, two large bamboo baskets, still bearing the freshly made, slightly yellowish-green color of bamboo, sat quietly.

The basket was empty, as if it contained not air, but the embarrassment and disorientation of the people in the car.

……

Meanwhile, Wu Lei, carrying baskets, finally made it home with great effort.

He put down the basket and said dejectedly, "Grandpa, next time you ask me to carry a basket, just tell me in advance so I can come back on my tricycle."

The basket wasn't heavy, but he hadn't grown up carrying loads on a shoulder pole. The hard shoulder pole pressed against his shoulder bone, and it hurt terribly.

The old man in his brand-new electric wheelchair was full of energy, looking down on his useless grandson:

"You need a tricycle for just a few baskets? Isn't that on your way? I'll talk to you next time."

This is Song Tan's maternal grandfather.

He now earns a stable income every month by weaving baskets, and the old man is living a very comfortable life.

Big and small, patterned, square and round, dark and light, even fruit platters and cat beds are woven with them.

Now, he no longer envies Song Youde's straw mat business. Instead, he is single-mindedly focused on making his own craft bigger and stronger, and his baskets are becoming more and more stable.

This electric wheelchair is the result of his savings over this period of time.

He used to refuse when the kids offered to buy it for him, but now that he's earned it himself, he can really show it off!

But now, counting his own baskets again:

"Why are two missing? Did you lose them?"

Wu Lei quickly took out his phone: "I met some people on the way who were going to Yunqiao Village late at night, so I sold two more for them. I'll transfer the money to you."

What's so strange about that?

My aunt didn't seem to mind: "These days, a lot of people like to come over at night, spend a hundred or so yuan to sleep in, and then they can go to the clinic to queue up early the next morning, or even go for a stroll in the mountains."

Otherwise, with such hot weather, people won't be able to go out during the day, which would be a waste of time.

Instead, you can spend a little money to get some sleep, and in the morning you can pick the freshest vegetables and buy freshly ground tofu.

As they talked, night had completely fallen. The family chatted amongst themselves, planning what time to get up and set up their stall the next day.

Because of the heat, people arrive early, so they have to be waiting by the roadside until dawn.

Wu Lei, however, has a new problem.

That is, at the enthusiastic invitation of his good friend, beef is delivered to the supermarket every now and then.

The problem is that in the first year of raising livestock, no one in the family dared to take too big a step, and now they can't even supply enough meat.

Ugh!
Seeing that he couldn't earn any money, he became increasingly depressed.

"Mom, what do you think about me getting one of those fertilizer-making machines, fermenting and processing dried cow dung, and then selling it? Would that work?"

He had already thought of his customers: when he was selling baskets, he would ask his grandfather to help promote them on the roadside.

Those who are willing to drive to the countryside might actually be interested in gardening. Whether the fertilizer is good or not, you'll know once you try it.

My aunt couldn't understand why anyone would spend money to buy these things; you could ask anyone in the countryside and they'd shovel two shovelfuls.

But considering that Song Tan's family still has to put a lot of effort into making fertilizer, and I heard that some people in Yunqiao Village raise earthworms and sell manure, which can earn them a lot of money in a quarter!

"Then you should ask around first," she replied.

"If the machine isn't expensive and the technology is easy to learn, then go for it."

Ugh.

If you raise a child for one hundred years, you will be worried for ninety-nine years.

Her child used to work in the city, but after she started dating someone, she felt that he was a bit dim-witted and she didn't know how they would live together in the future.

Now the child is at ease raising cattle at home, but how will he settle down and get married, such a great young man?
Ulan also said that a woman named Zhang Hong from their village was organizing some kind of matchmaking event—

Oh dear, I need to find some time to go and register my child!
Then I thought: No, we can't always rely on our parents for this kind of thing!
“Leilei,” his aunt said kindly and gently, “take some time to go to Tantan’s place and ask Aunt Zhang Hong from their village to sign up. Staying at home all the time, you don’t have any way to meet other girls.”

We should pay more attention to the blind date event and think it over carefully.

Those who make it to the matchmaking event should at least be people we know well, right? After the initial screening, surely we won't have to wait for another unsuitable Lili to join us?

Wu Lei blinked blankly, not knowing how the topic had shifted from cow dung to important life events.

But after hesitating for a moment, he asked again, "Should we register Lingling? I don't think she has very good taste." These two siblings are only good if they're related by blood!

Their skill levels are all the same.

My aunt originally wanted to say that Lingling could work in the city and marry a city person, which would be better than working in the village!

But think about the boyfriend she brought last time—

Forget it.

She said with a headache, "I'll call her later. If she agrees, we'll sign her up too."

I've heard that it's not easy for college graduates to find jobs these days. If she can't find a decent job, please ask Tan Tan to arrange one for her.

We won't be picky; let them shovel manure and weed.

As long as I have a fixed salary, enough to eat and drink, and can save money, that's enough.

If we're really talking about ability, wasn't Tan Tan more capable than her before? I heard the company valued her highly.

But after only two years of work, he came back looking thin and with such a serious injury that he was completely pale.

Her daughter is just a bit stubborn. If she really worked, who knows how much money she could save each month?

Let's hope they don't end up malnourished too...

Each member of the family had their own plans, but Aunt Zhang Hong, who was busy picking beans, shuddered, feeling that she was always being nagged.

But she didn't care. Business was booming, and lots of people were talking about her. Instead, she yelled into the house:

"Have you finished soaking the beans? It's hot now, and there will definitely be a lot of people drinking iced tofu pudding tomorrow morning—prepare some extra!"

"Yes!" the husband replied from the main room.

"The fermented bean curd is ready, it can't be left unsold, sell it quickly! Tell them to eat it as soon as possible! We can't ship it anymore, stop all online orders..."

The couple were busy, calling the children over and giving them instructions. Now, money was flowing in like water, and they were constantly busy, but their mood was becoming more and more cheerful.

Especially when she saw Zhou Maozhu's family coming to her place to buy tofu, their hesitant expressions made her feel even happier.

Since they were all from the same village, there were naturally no major conflicts.

But the businesses that others wanted to do, because of their hesitation, were snatched up by their own team. Now that they're making money, they can only feel regret.

It's only natural that she would secretly feel happy about this.

Damn!

Aunt Zhang Hong sighed inwardly:
It's not good to keep worrying about this. Zhou Maozhu is also very good at cooking and serving food at home, and he's actually made quite a bit of money.

I wonder if Zhou Tianyu has found a girlfriend yet? What are his plans for the future?
If you plan to stay in Yuncheng, then you can also register for the matchmaking event!

Although this young man is a bit slick and arrogant, he's not a bad person at heart.

If a boy like this goes back to find a more assertive girl to control, and if they have a foundation of affection, they can still live a fulfilling life together.

In this world, every pot needs a lid to match; nothing is perfect.

……

Not long after I bought the basket, it got completely dark.

The driver followed the navigation on the smooth asphalt road, going uphill, downhill, and turning, and he was very careful.

Secretary Wang couldn't look at the documents in her hands at that moment, so she could only look at the scenery on both sides—

It was pitch black, but thankfully the solar streetlights, though not very bright, still provided some light.

I must say, even though it's a mountain village and you don't see a single house for a long time, the dark green all around is really quite peaceful.

He recalled today's arrangements and began to explain them in detail:
"Boss, we arrived a bit late, but I've already arranged with the guesthouse to cover the cost of meals at their cafeteria."

"After we get there, we can put our luggage down and then eat at the canteen on the mountain, or I can get food and eat at the guesthouse."

"Then get some rest, and you can wander around around around at five or six o'clock tomorrow morning. At seven o'clock, you can go to the clinic to queue up. Dr. Guo said that he opens an hour earlier tomorrow morning and told us to go there first."

It was obviously not good to let everyone know about the leader's health condition, and arriving an hour early was not difficult for Guo Dong at all.

In the village, who doesn't wake up at five or six o'clock?

By the time we finish watching, it will be around eight or nine o'clock. Then we'll go to Song Tan's house for dinner.

—That's right, that's the most important thing! We agreed on it beforehand.

After dinner, the sun rose higher and the temperature became extremely hot. It was no longer suitable to go out, but it was also a good time for them to return to the hotel to handle some business.

In short, the day was packed with activities.

"There's one thing: if we're going to get acupuncture or moxibustion, we need to have a couple of bites in the morning."

The driver listened silently to the tight schedule, and finally couldn't help but say, "This doctor seems to have really good medical skills!"

The leader laughed when this was mentioned:

“Xiao Niu, you took leave last time and didn’t come, so you don’t know her reputation. Now that you’re here—Wang Qing, could you make an appointment for Xiao Niu too, and arrange something for him as well? You drive all day and sit here all the time, so your back probably isn’t in good shape.”

The driver was about to refuse, but when the other party mentioned his lumbar spine, he had no choice but to accept the offer.

"It's an old problem, but nowadays every industry has its own occupational hazards, so mine is nothing..."

His back is bad, and the leader's legs aren't much better. They're both doing this for the public good.

Being a driver for a leader requires knowing how to read the room and how to maintain appropriate boundaries.

People in their line of work often have problems not only with their lumbar spine, but also with their kidneys.

This isn't all about lifestyle; it's because the leadership has requirements, and we have to be prepared at any time.

They can be trusted confidants because they do this exceptionally well.

For example, driver Niu is always cautious.

Aside from drinking water to stay alert, I rarely drink water during other working hours, just to avoid the hassle.

You can't expect your boss to be in a rush to get somewhere, and then you tell them you need to use the restroom first.
This isn't impossible, but people have to give something in return for something they want to gain.

In short, he first sincerely thanked them for their kindness, and then began to look forward to it with great anticipation.

Secretary Wang, however, thought about it for a moment:

"It's the weekend, so we don't need to rush back. Let's see Dr. Guo's schedule tomorrow. If he needs acupuncture or moxibustion treatments, can we go back on Sunday night?"

If that doesn't work, then I'll have to swallow my pride and buy some pills and moxa sticks to take back to the doctor I know.

But as a leader, no one can guarantee what will happen in an emergency, so the person in the back seat only thought for a moment, and seeing that the car was approaching the village entrance, slowly said:

"Let's go up the mountain and check out the situation tomorrow."

It's Saturday, so it's a good time to check out the tourists.

The car drove smoothly forward, but when it passed a wide open area at a fork in the road, it was discovered that large areas of clean and tidy concrete open space had appeared ahead.

There are also neat, square two-story buildings nearby.

Huh?
The leader sat up slightly.

The car window rolled down, and a wave of sweltering heat and loud shouts rushed in.

Looking ahead at the simple basketball court, a group of young people were running, chasing, and jumping, their youthful energy unmistakable. (End of Chapter)